Edward and the Traffic Violation
by Mstar the Cat Demon
Summary: Edward gets caught speeding by those newfangled radar guns and loses his license! Whatever will he do?


**Edward and the Traffic Violation**

A Story by Mstar

_Prologue_

Edward was late. Considering his driving habits and track record of punctuality, Bella was getting worried. Alice had dragged her off shopping that day, and when they returned to the Cullen abode (where Charlie had agreed to let her spend the night, as he was going to away on a fishing trip for the weekend), Edward had apparently stepped out to get something.

"Where's Edward?" Bella asked Emmett as he sat down next to her.

"No clue," he replied. "Rosalie and I were… preoccupied when he left."

"TMI," she informed him as she rolled her eyes. At that moment, the phone rang.

"Hello?" they heard from the kitchen, where Esme had picked up the receiver. There was a short moment of silence as whoever was calling spoke, and then, "No! Edward, you didn't!" More silence. "You know that you've just made your life quite difficult." A short pause. "Well, I'll send Carlisle over right away. Should Bella go with him?" … "And whose fault is that?" … "Sure, whatever. Take care, dear."

The group of vampires (and Bella) in the living room looked at Esme curiously as she entered the room. "What has our son gotten himself into?" Carlisle asked from his armchair in the corner, where he had been reading the newspaper.

Esme sighed and answered, "Edward is in jail."

"What?" the rest exclaimed in unison.

"He was caught speeding," she explained to her baffled family.

"_How?_" Emmett asked in disbelief. "Can't he detect the police?"

"Yeah, and how come you didn't See this, Alice?" Rosalie added.

"Like I spend all my time looking into my brother's future," Alice scoffed. "I have more important things to do. Like shopping."

"Esme," came Bella's soft voice, "what exactly happened?"

Esme smiled at her would-be adopted daughter and replied, "It appears that Forks has installed some radar guns throughout town. You know, those things that can detect how fast something is going. Well when the police got a report from the computer that recorded the information, they were so alarmed by the speed that immediately looked up the license plate and went out to find and arrest Edward." She turned to her husband and continued, "Edward used his one phone call and asked for someone to come bail him out."

"I take it that 'someone' means me?" Carlisle asked as he rose from his seat.

"If you'd like to be."

Carlisle looked as if he was going to leave, but before he left the room, he stopped and returned to his chair. "Actually," he said, "I think I'm going to left him spend the night there."

"What?!" Bella shouted, alarmed.

Carlisle smiled as he picked up his paper to continue reading and replied, "Edward has lived a long life and has never been to jail. I would hate to deny him the opportunity, which he may never have again in a long while. I think he could use the learning opportunity." He winked at Bella and the rest of his family from behind his paper, and then resumed his perusal of it.

(\/)

(O.o)

( vv )

_How could they do this to me!_, Edward thought angrily. _I called almost eight hours ago, and they've yet to come and bail me out!_ He was not very happy about having to spend the night in jail. It was one in the morning and he was bored out of his mind and pissed off. Since sleeping was hardly an option, all he could really do was pace the short length of his cell and think angry thoughts.

He was still doing this (there was a vaguely noticeable indent in the floor) at ten AM the next day. "Hello, Edward," came a sickeningly familiar voice, stirring Edward from his thoughts.

"Good morning, Chief Swan," he greeted his girlfriend's father warily. "I thought you were going to be away for the weekend."

"I delayed my departure just for you," he said with a wry smile. "So, you were caught speeding."

"I guess you could say that," Edward replied grimly.

"And at such a speed as to warrant your arrest and the confiscation of your license."

"Yes, Sir. Unfortunately."

"'Unfortunately' that you were speeding," he asked, standing close to the cell bars, "or that you got caught?"

"Um…" Edward started, unsure of how to respond.

Luckily, he didn't have to, as another police officer entered the cell block saying, "Chief Swan, Cullen's been bailed out."

"Finally!" Edward couldn't help but exclaim.

"We're not finished with this conversation," Charlie told him sharply, "and we'll continue it with whichever parent came to bail you out."

They were both startled to find that it was neither of the Cullen parental units waiting for Edward, but Bella instead.

"Hey, Dad," Bella said reluctantly, clearly dreading the inevitable talk with her father.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" Edward asked, still rather stunned to see her.

"Yes, what _are_ you doing here?" said her father.

"Well," she replied, "Carlisle thought it would be, um… a 'learning opportunity' for Edward to spend the night in jail. But as he had to go to work this morning, I volunteered to come bail him out. Uh, Carlisle gave me the money."

Charlie shook his head and informed Edward, "It's nice to know Carlisle punishes you kids, but he had better be planning something more than just a night in jail."

"Oh, I bet he is," Edward answered dejectedly.

"Now before I let you go," Charlie continued, "please enlighten me as to why you had to be driving so damn fast, because right now, I'm seriously considering never letting Bella into a car with you at the wheel ever again."

"Sorry about that," Edward said with a sigh. "It was, um… an emergency."

"Right," said Charlie, who clearly didn't believe him. "Well tell Carlisle that he can expect a visit from me later. Also, you should watch the mail for a letter about your trial, where you'll find out if you'll ever see your license again."

"And my car?" the vampire asked hopefully.

"It's impounded, a matter that I will discuss with Carlisle." Turning to his daughter, he continued, "I take it that you're driving Edward home. Well when I get back from my trip, we'll also continue this conversation. Got that?'

"Yes, Sir," Bella replied, not looking forward to Charlie's return home.

Inside Bella's truck, on the way to the Cullen abode, Edward was clearly sulking. "So it looks like I'll be _your_ escort, for a change," she said lightly, trying to cheer her boyfriend up. Unfortunately, it appeared to have the opposite effect.

"It's like moving in slow motion…" she heard him mutter vaguely.

Bella sighed. She had the distinct feeling that it was going to be a long weekend.

AN- So how was that for an intro? I always wondered what would happen if Edward got caught by one of those radar guns the police set up on roads that people are always speeding on. The next chapter will be much longer, as this one was just the prologue.

In the next episode of "Edward and the Traffic Violation":

-Edward is chastised!

-Why can't Emmett stop laughing?

-How will Carlisle punish Edward?

-And most importantly, what will become of Edward's CAR?!


End file.
